More details emerge about Quaid twins’ overdose
Kimberly Quaid’s brother Blake Buffington has apparently granted an interview to People, providing further insight into the circumstances surrounding the tragic accidental overdose which has left his niece and nephew in the neo-natal intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
According to Blake, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace — the 3-week-old twin children of Kimberly and actor Dennis Quaid — were initially admitted to the facility after one of the babies developed a staph infection near their belly button, presumably in relation to the umbilical cord. Although it is not immediately clear why both Thomas and Zoe needed to be treated, both ultimately received IVs, at which point a hospital worker administered the overdose of the blood-thinning drug Heparin. Cedars-Sinai has since admitted and apologized for the mistake.
As for why Kimberly and Dennis utilized a gestational carrier with the twins, People reports that Kimberly suffered five miscarriages. The twins are the first children for the couple; Dennis has a 15-year-old son, Jack, with ex-wife Meg Ryan.
Source: Access Hollywood via People
- Posted on Nov 29, 07 at 4:36PM
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- 11 Comments
November 29th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
My continued prayers are with them. I’ve been disgusted with some of the speculation found on the web having to do with why they chose a surrogate. No matter what it is a private decision and they should not have to defend themselves.
November 29th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
My prayers go out to the Quaids and these precious little babies and their continued progress. I hope they will be OK in the long run, with no lasting side effects of this incident. However, I have to say that I think it is absolutely ridiculous that an explanation had to be given as to why they used a gestational carrier. It makes me sick that these celebs are continuously scrutinized over every little detail involving their private lives and the decisions that they make. I recall seeing several posts on this site questioning the use of a surrogate and why they didn’t just adopt and I was appalled. I mean seriously, who are we to decide how someone should expand their family? People do whatever works for them and we all should be supportive of that. The fact that Kimberly had five miscarriages shouldn’t have to be explained to anyone in the public sphere. The fact that we get information about these precious babies and a few pictures here and there should be enough for us all. We are not owed anything more.
November 29th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
those poor babies. i hope they can all get through this difficult time. does anyone know what the side effects from a heparin overdose are? I thought blindness was a possible side effect but I am not sure. Any nurses here or medical professionals that could answer this? thank you.
November 29th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Side effects of heparin: Bleeding, bruising and hemorrhage. Particularly in infants, bleeding of the brain needs to be closely observed. Cedars has an excellent NICU, and I’m sure the twins have undergone a number of cranial ultrasounds and lab panels to catch any potential complication early. My prayers are with them.
November 30th, 2007 at 12:58 am
I’m physically ill reading about this medical mistake. I know this is far too common, but I can’t believe stuff like this happens! Those poor babies. I feel especially bad for Kimberly, since she’s probably suffered the most through all of her miscarriages – and now, when she has finally realized her dream of being a mother to healthy babies, it’s all yanked out from under her. I hope she has enough strength not to try to kill that tech. My thoughts are with both parents and their kids. I really hope they are safe and home for the holidays and they can all have a happy Christmas together.
November 30th, 2007 at 3:07 am
I am praying for those poor babies. I hope their parents are holding up okay – I can’t imagine having to go through this, after suffering five miscarriages.
I also hope those rabid dogs who disguise themselves as journalists leave the poor family alone.
November 30th, 2007 at 5:42 am
I’m an NICU nurse and don’t understand how this could’ve happened.
1- if the babies only needed antibiotic treatment, then why was heparin even remotely close to them?
2- I don’t know about that hospital, but in mine, we double check ALL medication with another nurse and make sure it’s the 5 rights: right patient, right route, right dosage, right medication and right time. 10 times the concentration is a BIG mistake!
I feel very sad for this family and hope that the babies come out of it with no long term consequences.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:10 am
God Bless those babies..
November 30th, 2007 at 9:47 am
These babies are still in the hospital?
Sarah’s note: Yes, they are.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:54 am
This is one of the most horrific things I’ve heard of happening to newborns. How in the world can they overcome such a high dose? It’s like they were induced to bleed everywhere? Does anyone know what the treatment is..not the test to see how they are doing, but what actually is done to reverse it? I am praying they survive and are healthy.
Sarah’s note: If you click to the original post about the incident (the pink link) it says how they were treated. I don’t remember specifically what it was they were treated with to counteract it, but I know it’s mentioned in that post.
December 1st, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Protamine sulfate is the drug used to reverse a heparin overdose.
Unfortunately, these twins were given not one, but two wrong doses of the heparin. One that morning and then another later that evening. The twins started to bleed out and that is when the nurses realized the error.
Yes, this horrific error could have easily been prevented if the nurse administering the herparin had used the 5 R’s.
Leaving out that one crucial step has more than likely caused these precious little babies a lifetime of problems.